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On Learning From “Eating Animals”

Did you see the mayhem over at Change.org’s Sustainable Food page with Natasha Chart’s “Eating Animals?” I’m writing about it because I’d like to learn any lesson I can to prevent parts of it from happening again (you know, the…

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Targeting This Year’s Iditarod Supporters

Ah yes, it’s that time again: When I post (–this time link to) a list of Iditarod supporters and then spend the next couple of days fielding e-mails from representatives of a few of them who claim they are not…

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On Animals, Pregnancy and Parenting

This unbelievable article in the Palm Beach Post, by one Dr. Berry Brazelton, advises a grandmother-to-be that: “It would be better for the baby if your daughter would rid herself of [her] cats. If not, the cats must be kept…

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On Death and the Worst Thing That Can Happen

Yesterday, Parke commented: “One difficulty I have with the moral hard-line is that it generally assumes that death is the worst thing that can happen to something (or someone) and inadequately acknowledges the natural cycle of life-and-death: that death enables…

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Take the Vow of Non-Violence?

Four dear friends, all of whom are not vegans or vegetarians, sent me a link to “Take the Vow of Non-Violence in My Thoughts, My Speech and My Actions.” Deepak Chopra is involved in this project (they’re on Team Chopra),…

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This is the Month for the Carriage Horse Ban in NYC

The following letter is from today’s NY Daily News (here). BY ELIZABETH FOREL Monday, January 12th 2009, 4:00 AM It seems like a lifetime ago that I first became aware of the carriage horses in Central Park. I recall being…

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On School Lunches and the Power of Being Duped

I think this might be the year for expanded vegan school lunches in schools and government facilities. There’s the Change.org activity and the Change.gov activity as well as the PCRM petition (and its user-friendly Healthy School Lunches site). And then…

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On Dog Trainers and the Banning of Birds as Pets

First, I thought it would be easy to find a dog trainer for a friend in Dallas, but alas . . . AND, I don’t even think he needs a trainer. What do you think? He adopted a dog from…

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Protests, Sneakers and Feral Cats, Oh My!

Protests Santos, of the NYC Animal Rights Group, wrote yesterday to tell me that there will be a protest TONIGHT at Madison Square Garden for the opening night of the rodeo I wrote about yesterday. Here are the details. Sneakers…

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On the Culture of Bull Riding

When I first saw “For Bull Riders, It’s a Long Day of Waiting and a Few Seconds of Fury,” in the New York Times, I didn’t know where to begin. I felt some deconstruction coming on, and I knew it…

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On Sentient Nonhumans and Language

It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still do get people who claim that we humans are exceptional because we have language. What they really mean is that we are entitled to do what we wish…

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On Tara and Bella

The sentience discussion has become quite intriguing. Chime in, and if you haven’t seen the story of Tara and Bella, it’s a must. There’s one of a handful of 15-30 second commercials first, and don’t ask me how they change…

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On Sentience

A new person e-mailed me (new to e-mailing me, not to reading Animal Person) and said he finds himself eating very little “meat” since reading! Congratulations, New Person! He doesn’t know if he will ever become a vegan but he…

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On Words that Get in the Way

When I had that exchange with the person who didn’t view cows as somebodies, I realized that I, of all people, had a language problem. I often make assumptions that I shouldn’t make, and one of those assumptions is that…

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On Steve Best and Norm Phelps

Steve Best reviewed Norm Phelps in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies (check it out here, and also check out the article on humane education). Shortly thereafter, Phelps e-mailed Best regarding that review, and so began months of e-mail exchanges…

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